I think many people feel lost in coming up with legitimate answers.
I suspect many people are completely uninterested in coming up with legitimate answers. They already have the answer they want, and look to science only as a source of arguments to justify their conclusion. And for very politically charged issues, chances are the anti-scientific partisans will massively outnumber the scientists, which would be fatal for a community-driven site.
Stack Exchange platform is the best for questions that can be answered precesely. Questions with precise answers are prefered on Science Stack as on Stack Overflow.
A site for controversial issues is slightly different because users are supposed to be separated and drawn toward polar opinions. SE platform might also work for that, but I haven't seen it in such an action.
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[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 27.8 ms ] thread"What is the evidence for global warming?"
"What are the benefits and costs of recycling? Is it actually better for the environment?"
These are difficult questions with complex science behind them, and I think many people feel lost in coming up with legitimate answers.
I suspect many people are completely uninterested in coming up with legitimate answers. They already have the answer they want, and look to science only as a source of arguments to justify their conclusion. And for very politically charged issues, chances are the anti-scientific partisans will massively outnumber the scientists, which would be fatal for a community-driven site.
A site for controversial issues is slightly different because users are supposed to be separated and drawn toward polar opinions. SE platform might also work for that, but I haven't seen it in such an action.